arts funding

Artist Alexander Taylor will be launching a Rhizome-backed project to archive .3gp format cell phone videos from the early 2000s.

From cell phone videos and unstable programs to aging laserdisk players and archival prints of Corey Arcangel codes; read all about the surprisingly fascinating world of digital art preservation and restoration. [Fast Company]

The National Assembly of State Arts Agencies has released a state-by-state report on projected per-capita art appropriations for fiscal year 2016. So where are an artist’s best chances of getting funding? Unsurprisingly, urban Northeastern states like New York, Maryland, and Massachusetts spend way more on the arts per person than conservative states. Though the islands have us all beat: Puerto Rico, Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands spend more money per capita on the arts than any U.S. state except Minnesota. And although the District of Columbia’s arts funding is down this year, it still spends a relatively whopping $22.30 per person on arts appropriations—more than anywhere else in the country. Surprisingly, the West Coast is about as bad as the deep south when it comes to underfunding the arts. [NASAA]

There’s a new art historical documentary coming out on the land art “cowboys”. [Hyperallergic]

According to the Australian government’s radicalization kit — a counter-terrorist booklet helping teachers identify radicalized students — if you’re a green activist into alternative music, you’re a target. [The Guardian]

For five years, there’s been an “art embargo” passed by the Russian government that forbids Russian museums or state archives lending cultural material to the United States. This all stems from a lawsuit by the New York-based Jewish organization Chabad in the hopes of securing artifacts it claims belongs to their people from Russian state collections. It’s a long story. Anyway, The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis found a very contemporary solution to the hurdle this presents curators. For the exhibition Faces of War: Russia in World War I, Russian scholars digitized photographs, recordings, and artifacts that the American institution then reproduced, all without breaking the embargo. [StarTribune]

“Even as progressives, we don’t think about how to experience the universe through pleasure. And the problem is that fun and leisure have become the domain of white people. And that’s how white supremacy works.” Faviana Rodriguez and other diverse burners breakdown the overwhelming whiteness of Burning Man. [The Guardian]

Honey Lee Cottrell, photographer and filmmaker who pioneered lesbian erotica died Monday September 21 of pancreatic cancer. She was 69 years old. [Feminine Moments]

We have now reached the point where deskilled telecommuters are supposedly so nostalgic for IRL McJobs that they need to play a VR job simulator game. [Fusion]

An oil painting and drawing by Francisco de Goya—collectively valued at €5 million—have been stolen from a home outside Madrid. [artnet News]

Ain’t no drama like globe-trotting oligarchy drama! Now an American art consultant, Sandy Heller, has been subpoenaed in the lawsuit between Russian collector Dmitri Rybolovlev and Swiss dealer Yves Bouvier, who is accused of overcharging Rybolovlev. Has anyone else had a hard time following this case? Expensive art was too expensive? What? At any rate, there could be a fun drinking game where we all sip champagne every time an exotic rich people tax haven is name-dropped in the story: Frozen assets in Singapore! Jail in Monaco! Freeport art storage in an undisclosed location! Lunch in St. Bart’s! [The Wall Street Journal]

California governor’s proposed budget would halve their arts funding. This, after having boosted arts funding last year by 5 million. Apparently this decline is a surprise to no one, since last year’s funding boom was declared a one time thing. [Hyperallergic]

Steven Soderbergh decided to re-cut 2001: A Space Odyssey. Now it is only 110 minutes. [Extension 765]

The nominations are in for the Oscars; let the betting begin! Until February 22, 2015, prepare to read about nothing else. [The Daily Beast, NPR, Flavorwire]

A review of Faye Driscoll’s dance performance, Thank You for Coming: Attendance from Benjamin Sutton. The performance, which melds shared experience and images, starts off strong, but becomes hard to follow in the last scene when the references become unclear. [Hyperallergic]

Pies and Thighs, the Williamsburg spot for pies and fried chicken, takes Manhattan. Now with doughnuts! [Grub Street]

An undercover federal agent posed as a Silk Road admin and made $1,000 a week in bitcoin. No word on whether he got to keep the money. [Motherboard]

On Amazon’s dog culture, by an insane woman who does not like dogs. [The Awl]

How do you build a large contemporary art collection? Here’s one successful method: send letters to well-known artists and swap “totally insane looking” drawings from your autistic son for their work. That ploy got the attention of This American Life; this week, the radio program aired an episode on this sketchy dude. At ARTINFO, Rosalia Jovanovic picks up where the TAL story leaves off, and speaks to Fredericks & Freiser artist Baker Overstreet about his involvement with the London [This American Life, ARTINFO]

Frieze is on Craigslist. We found an ad scouting out talented magicians, bartenders, and actors for artist Liz Glynn’s performance at the fair. [Craigslist]

Chicago has its first 3D printing facility. Available printers include the personal-use UP Mini and MakerBot, as well as the professional-grade EOS Formiga P110. The Duchamp toilets pictured in this article were made with the home printers. [New City]

The Barnes Foundation is raising ticket prices from 18 to 22 dollars. This isn’t shocking news, but their rationale is bizarre: to prevent visitors from touching the art. [Hyperallergic]

President Obama’s budget proposal for this coming year would boost arts funding by 10%. [Los Angeles Times]

On Tuesday, Detroit-area voters cast their ballots in favor of a new property tax slated solely to fund the Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA). As of last night, the election results were undecided; the vote was split 50/50 and voter turnout was low, hovering around 10 percent. The final numbers submitted this morning, though, show that the “DIA tax” will pass.

If New York City’s recent restoration of arts funding had you feeling optimistic about the state of the arts in America, here comes South Carolina to remind us all that the government still doesn’t get it. South Carolina’s artists and activists will descend on the state capitol in Columbia tonight to protest Governor Nikki Haley’s veto of $3.9 million in funding towards the South Carolina Arts Commission, a move that has already shuttered the organization and eliminated all public funding for the arts.

Last week, The Netherlands Media Art Institute (NIMk) announced it will close after 35 years of operation. According to NIMk's website, the Ministry of Culture has halted all future funding to the organization. This follows a wave of culture cutbacks across European countries due to the anticipated instability of the Euro and conservative-led austerity measures.